BCS Commercial Awareness Training | BCS Training

Call Us

+44 1344 961530

E-Mail Us

info@pentagonit.co.uk

Introduction
Course Details
Course Content
Enquire

A Quick Glance

Accredited by BCS
Learn the Budgeting Process and its intricacies
Evaluate financial cases using the Three Techniques
Access to the Commercial Awareness course-ware and certified tutors
Low Cost of Certification
Certification Recognized by Global Leading Brands

The era of monopolistic organizations is coming to an end while competition is growing. In order to be successful, an organisation needs to collaborate with suppliers, competitors and outsourcing partners. For the businesses to operate successfully new approaches are required to operate through using methods such as restructuring, changing the organisational behaviour, modifying the internal and external boundaries, and deploying performance measuring techniques.

To deal with such problems, business analysts must master their commercial skills to deal with their partners and customers successfully. This course deals with the commercial and organisational knowledge which is expected from professionals undergoing business analysis. Commercial Awareness can be classified into Business Finance and Organisational Behaviour. We at Pentagon Training provide the delegates with a unique opportunity to learn and better their communication skills. This BCS training is covered in a time frame of just 3 days.

Who should take this course

At Pentagon Training, we impart this course to delegates who wish to understand the structure, operation and behaviour of organizations. It is also targeted at those professionals who want to acquire skills to bring about a business change and are involved with the organization as one of the following:

Business Analysts
Program Manager
Project Manager
Solution Architects
Service managers

Prerequisites

The course comes with no prerequisites.

Evaluating A Financial Case Through Three Techniques
Understand what is Costing and Pricing
Cash Flow Forecasting and Budgeting
Financial Accounting Documents and Their Contents
Understand Financial Accounts
Discuss Required Business Performance Ratios
Define Porters Five Forces Framework and Value Chain
Describe Boston Consulting Group’s Matrix

Key Learning Points

Tutor Support

Certificate

Courseware

Course Overview

The course (as shown in the figure) is made up of two parts - Business Finance and Organisational Behaviour. During the schedule of the course – the first part covers Finance for IT Decision Makers and the second covers Business Analysis Techniques and Organisational Behaviour. The Trainers hold a certificate in this course , a two-year training experience or 1 year recognised qualification. The trainer also has to possess a three-year practical experience in the same stream.

Examination:

The candidates are required to sit for the exam after the course. The exam lasts for one hour and is a closed book exam with multiple choice questions. The exam recommends an accredited training from BCS but it is not a requirement. To get certified the candidate must score 65% marks. BCS allows the use of calculators during the exam. No mobile technology will be allowed.

Candidates sitting for an exam must carry identification of some means such as Passport, Driving License, or Student Card. Following the exam, the candidate will be sent an email from BCS asking you to register for your exam. Once registered the candidate can log in and view the exam result from their accounts.

Additional time of 15 minutes is allowed for differently abled candidates or those who have a different native language than the language of the examination.

Course Content

Part 1 – Business Finance

1.Evaluating a Financial Case

Purpose of Building a Financial Case
Techniques used for evaluating a Financial Case
- Payback
  - Calculation
  - Payback and Risk
  - Limitations of Payback
- Discounted Cash Flow /Net Present Value
  - Purpose
  - Calculation
  - The NPV Decision Rule
- Internal Rate of Return
  - How to derive IRR
  - How IRR is used
  - The IRR Decision Rule

2.Budgeting, Costing and Pricing

Budgets and Departmentalised Businesses
- The purpose of budgets
- Reasons for departmentalization
- Cost centres and profit centres
Cash Flow and Cash Management
- Cash flow forecasting
- Use of cash flow in decision making
- Cash flow and profit
Costing and Pricing
- Fixed and Variable costs
- Direct and indirect costs
- Break even and Contribution Analysis

3.Financial Reporting and Analysis

Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet)
- Purpose and Structure
- The nature, purpose and types of Capital
- Current and non-current liabilities
- Current and non-current assets
Income and Expenditure (Income Statement, Profit and Loss Account)
- The importance of Operating Profit
- Revenue (turnover)
- Cost of Sales
- Administrative Expenses
- Profit after Tax
Statement of Cash Flows (Cash Flow Statement)
Ratios (formulae and interpretation)
- Profitability Ratios: Operating Margin and Return on Capital Employed ratios
- Liquidity (Cash Management) Ratios: Current and “Acid Test” ratios
- Gearing (Leverage) Ratio: Debt/Equity Ratio

Part 2 – Organisational Behaviour

1.Market analysis and competitive advantage

Analysing the business domain - Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
Analysing the portfolio - Boston Box
Delivering value - Porter’s Value Chain

2.Organisational behaviour and culture

What is organisational behaviour?
Organisational effectiveness and the Balanced Scorecard
Understanding and analysing culture
- Organisational Cultural Types (Deal and Kennedy; Handy)
- International Cultures (Hofstede)
- The Cultural Web

3.Group formation

Groups and group dynamics
Formal and informal groups
- Groups and group tasks
- Characteristics of formal groups
- Homan’s theory of group formation
- Tuckman and Jensen’s theory of group development
- Characteristics of informal groups
- Social networks

4.Principles of organisational structure

Organisation structuring
- Elements of organisation structure
- The six Structure Levels
- The Leavitt Diamond
Types of jobs
- Work specialisation
- Flat and tall hierarchies
- Span of control
Line, staff and functional relationships
Formalisation of rules and procedures
Centralisation v decentralisation
- Advantages
- Disadvantages

5.Operating models

Organisation structures and their characteristics
- Functional
- Divisional – product or service/ geography/ customer
- Matrix
- Team-based – cross functional/ project
Organisational boundaries
- Boundaryless organisations
- Outsourcing
- Offshoring
- Hollow organisation structures
- Modular organisation structures
- Virtual organisations
- Collaborations and strategic alliances

BCS Certificate in Commercial Awareness Enquiry

Enquire Now

----- OR -------

Reach us at +44 1344 961530 or info@pentagonit.co.uk for more information.

About Bolton

The name Bolton originates from bothl-tun with the name Boelton being first used in 1185 AD. The town acquired different names such as Bothelton and Boulton, and finally Bolton (1307). The towns motto means “overcome difficulties”.

Bolton is located in North West England. Since the 14th century it was one of the largest and most productive centers of cotton spinning in the world due to the settlement of Flemish weavers. It reached its zenith in the beginning of the 20th century. However, towards the fag end of the 20th century, the scenario changed. The cotton industry came to an end virtually if not physically.

The various smaller towns and villages around Bolton form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton.

History

Bolton, part of Lancashire, came up as a small settlement in the moorland and was known as Bolton le Moors. At the time of the English Civil War, it was a political outpost in a staunchly Royalist region. This resulted in an attack by 3,000 Royalist troops led by Prince Rupert of the Rhine in 1644. 1,600 residents were killed and 700 taken prisoners in what came to be known as the Bolton Massacre.

Transport

Bolton is connected by local road as well as national routes. The A6 is a major north–south trunk road that passes to the west. The A666 dual carriageway, is an offshoot from the M61/M60 motorway interchange. The M61 has three dedicated stops.

Bolton is served by a network of local buses coordinated by Transport for Greater Manchester. The bus station on Moor Lane was scheduled to be replaced by a new interchange in the town centre by the end of 2014, at a cost of £48 million.

Bolton Interchange was served by Virgin West Coast trains passing through Manchester Piccadilly station. Managed by Northern, the station is part of a town-centre transport interchange. It provides services to many stations are operated by TransPennine Express and Northern trains.

Sports

Bolton is home to various sports such as Football, Hockey and Cricket. Bolton Wanderers F.C. play football in the English League club. The Bolton Wanderers was formed in 1874 and they played at Burnden Park for 102 years. In 1997, it moved to the Reebok Stadium. The club has won four FA Cups, the last one being in 1958. The club has 73 seasons in the top division of the English league – most by any team.

Bolton Hockey Club has men and women in its teams and there are junior as well as regular teams with more than 120 playing members. The town also has two local cricket leagues, the Bolton Cricket League, and the Bolton Cricket Association.